Hunting scenario looking for solutions

[Brillo]

I expect this to happen this spring and am so inexperienced I really don't know how I will handle it.
Parameters: Eastern birds, flat country with some low spots, public with moderate to heavy pressure on weekends.  Early season here is mid April.  Good numbers of birds.  You are on oak flat mid morning and can see 100 yards in every direction and farther in some.  You are moving quietly as possible and come across some fresh scratching that looks to be leading toward a low area where there are thicker stem counts and intermittent water.  There are a couple of fingers that slope into the wet area  but that is 300 yards away.
You have a slate pot, a box, a trumpet and a mouth call that you can only use for soft purrs.  Here is what I will do:  1) Sit down, listen and watch for 15 minutes to make sure there are no birds nearby.  2) Assume that birds are moving toward the thicker area and move that direction as quietly as I can.  3) Find a spot near but back from the edge of the thicker area and start to call softly on the slate.  4) Increase volume and if there is no response move to the box call.  If no response yet I will wait 15 minutes and then move on.  If I get a response I might give another call or two and then shut up.  I really have no idea what is right.  Maybe I just wrote this to think myself but I am interested in your approach.

[Tom007]

I have more of a grasp on your scenario. The one thing I never do is make any calls in any type of "Open" terrain. This will help avoid attention if there is a bird on the fringe that may pick me off. I also never make one call without picking my Quick set-up location. Before every call, I know exactly where I will set-up. Once you get to some better cover, you may opt to sit for a bit and Blind Call. I had birds respond after several minutes here. As others said, once you trolled this area, move slowly to your next ideal set-up spot and repeat. This trolling method done methodically does eventually pay dividends. You received a lot of great info from the others here....take it all in.....good luck....

[Brillo]

Thanks Tom.  I am already scouting and found myself in this exact place last week. I started to wonder how I would handle various scenarios.  I guess I could avoid the area altogether or approach it differently.  Most hunters in my area stop on the road and run locator calls.  With lots of hunters I don't think of that as a "best" approach.  So then what?  The reason there are hunters there is that there are turkeys.  I have avoided areas with high hunter density in the past but have had to deal with low bird density.  I think I am ready to get in the mix but want to be smart about it.

[Tom007]

Thanks Tom.  I am already scouting and found myself in this exact place last week. I started to wonder how I would handle various scenarios.  I guess I could avoid the area altogether or approach it differently.  Most hunters in my area stop on the road and run locator calls.  With lots of hunters I don't think of that as a "best" approach.  So then what?  The reason there are hunters there is that there are turkeys.  I have avoided areas with high hunter density in the past but have had to deal with low bird density.  I think I am ready to get in the mix but want to be smart about it.

You already have a great attitude. I hunt a mixture of private/public, probably 60% private, 40 public. If you have a good flock of birds in your area, remember that most hunters statistically have around a 10% success ratio. I know this is hard to believe, but it's true in a lot of areas. Have a few birds/spots located prior to your opener. Have a "plan A, B, and C". Get to your spot early. If you have pressure, and get walked in on, go to Plan B. I have gotten to my public spots 3 hours before light, went in woods, sat beside a tree and watched a few guys pull up, turn around and leave. Been lucky to encounter some ethical guys in these spots. Most hunters hunt the first few days, even the first week, then they quit. This is when I would circle back to those areas you have birds and resume hunting those spots. Those pressured Tom's are tough, educated, call shy and on edge, but they can be taken. Hunt slow, quiet, use limited calling, and try and use non-traditional calls. Remember, "Persistence and patience" kills Turkeys. The birds will settle down when the pressure dies off, and you will experience some fine late season action. Best of luck to ya!

[Greg Massey]

I would continue to move very slowly and setup in a blind calling scenario, alone the edge first with some soft calling, just to see if i could get a response from a gobbler, those scratching only means him / hen or something else made then like a armadillo. But again lets assume they are from a gobbler and you also see a few tracks. I would setup and start off with some soft calling to see if i could get a response back for a gobbler and i would continue this every 15 - 20 minutes. Just because he didn't respond doesn't mean he's not in the area. He could have hens with him and with your soft calling could bring the hens in your direction with the gobbler in tow and he has no reason to gobble back at you. If nothing responds after a period of time i would continue moving down into the thicker cover and setup again and continue calling and try to strike a gobbler. As the mid - morning becoming mid-day i would become more aggressive with my calling in hoping to get him fired up as the hens move away from him assuming he has hens with him. You have to remember your mostly blind calling trying to locate a gobbler. In all of your scenarios I would move slow and setup, call and change locations and as the day progressed i would become more aggressive as the day becomes afternoon. Someday's it just doesn't happen and you have to start all over again the next Day....  You never know what a hen will bring in your direction as you call in all your scenarios. I guess that's why we call it turkey hunting ... turkeys do what turkeys want to do...  I agree to move slow in hoping not to bump him or them and continue setting up and calling in all hopes you get a response of some kind. It's the love of playing the game.

[Brillo]

Thanks Greg for this insight.  What you are suggesting is different than my instinct in this way...  if I don't get a response to soft calling I just ratchet up the intensity and hope that elicits a response.  You are suggesting wait a while and then move carefully and continue soft calling.  You also imply that you would make a commitment to stay on the birds.  I assume that they are long gone and so I  move on.  Since I KNOW, from scouting or other prior experience that there really are birds around, it makes sense to extend the effort.  Maybe birds show up, maybe not.  I have noted that toms will often show up in the same place often if not daily.  They do seem to hang in areas that they like as opposed to roaming widely.  How hens find them when they don't gobble is beyond me but maybe the hens also know the drill.  Maybe they are staying together and keeping tab that way like deer or elk?

[mountainhunter1]

One thing that is generally true, if the birds are there, there will be some turkey talk going on in the woods to help you know where to head and how to set up to try and call them into gun range. Yes, there are days when the birds are lockjawed, but four out of five days, they will usually gobble at least some, even if it is just mostly early on the roost. I will use a crow call, but I do not usually do much cold calling before 10:30-11:00. If the birds are in the right mood, they will usually be doing at least some intermittent gobbling up to around 10:30 or there about. In other words, in the early morning I let them strike my response rather than me being the one trying to strike their response.

Greg is correct - after 11:00 or there about, the tables will often flip, and I will start to do some cold calling if and when the birds have gone silent. He is also correct that you can call a bit more aggressive to at least strike a bird at noon or in the afternoon. While not always true, usually if a bird gobbles to your calling after 12:00, unless you do something wrong in his final approach, he is more often than not fixing to die and many times he will come in rather quick.

[guesswho]

can see 100 yards in every direction and farther in some. 

Without being there and seeing/hearing what is unfolding I wouldn't have any idea what my approach would be.  I do more reacting than thinking when turkey hunting.   One thing I would do though would be eliminate this spot where I can see a hundred yards in any direction from my potential killing spots.   While these spots are good for seeing turkeys they usually aren't real productive when it comes to killing turkeys.  Exception would be someone who uses decoys, but even then this scenario isn't ideal for killing.   I try to find a spot where he would be in killing range about the time he should be able to see that hen he's been hearng. 

[Zobo]

Greg's got good advice, set up somewhere and blind call. That's it.  You are overthinking things and putting too much pressure on yourself. You will learn "on the job." You don't have to get everything figured out in advance, enjoy the journey and the learning process, it's part of the fun believe it or not. Most importantly BE SAFE. I tell my kids and their friends the more anxious and desperate you allow yourself to get, the more of a potential danger you become to yourself and others. Remember, you will definitely be successful eventually!

[Brillo]

Thanks Zobo.  I guess you are right.  It's January and I am bored. 

[eggshell]

The very first thing that was a red flag in your scenario, to me, was you saw scratching leading ahead of you. That means,very simply, they were already where you are and are now gone. That may seem like a silly and obvious statement, but it carries a lot of weight in my hunting strategies. Turkeys generally do not like to back-track. If they already been there and moved on they aren't likely coming back soon. Sure you may get a response, but he'll hang up, because no. 1) he wants you to catch up and come with him and no. 2) He's headed somewhere else. I agree with "Guesswho" get out of that open area, he'll peak into it and look for a hen and then move on or hang up. If you know where they head to get there first, circle around. Hen's generally don't like to nest in those big open woods and that gobbler is headed to the brush because that's where the girls hang out...it's the turkey version of the beach or singles bar. Be there at daylight is a better strategy. I'd rather wait at the bar with girls, knowing he'll eventually show up there, then be where he wakes up and then trying to chase him to the girls....you'll lose 80% of those.

[fmf]

From the scenario it sounds like they are silent/you aren't hearing any birds gobble?  I'd go try to find a gobbling bird somewhere.  I'm not trying to hunt silent birds by assuming which direction they went based off of some scratching, when somewhere on that public land there is probably a gobbler that would be more fun to hunt

[Zobo]

Thanks Zobo.  I guess you are right.  It's January and I am bored.

As an academic exercise it's perfectly fine, we do it all the time here. And it's is good your thinking deeply about different scenarios, just don't let it overwhelm you.

[GobbleNut]

Once again, good points made above by everybody. 

Point 1)...and as others have already pointed out:  Based on your description and circumstances described, I would definitely try to find a location in the area besides the wide-open oak flat to set up and try to call a gobbler and/or hens to UNLESS you are using some sort of visual aid in addition to calling.  Even then, I would look for an area with a little less visibility, if possible. In your case, I think I would rather move to the thicker area you describe 300 yards away and with more broken terrain.  300 yards is nothing to a gobbler that is interested in an unseen hen he hears.

Point 2)...and as others have stated:  Hunting any location, and certainly one like you describe, requires approaching the hunt at the proper time and from the proper angle.  Hitting wide-open woods for a set-up at the wrong time is likely to not be nearly as productive as being there at another time of day, and it may well be counterproductive by alerting the turkeys there to your presence and calling. 

Point 3)...and per fmf's comment:  Unless you are just confined to that small area, sometimes it is just more fun, as well as productive, to go looking for a turkey that will have a conversation with you rather than trying to deal with some that won't.  Personally, I hate hunting mute turkeys.  Yeah, sometimes the "talkers" just are not around to be found, but I will always go with the assumption that they are out there somewhere,...until I am totally convinced that they are not.  Admittedly, that has happened a few times over the years, but I have had pretty good luck finding a gobbler that was willing to play just by expanding my search area a bit.  In addition, it also gives a guy the chance to familiarize himself with other areas for future opportunities when things are slow.

[Happy]

I think I understand what you're laying out. More than likely, I would ease off to the side of their travel route. Preferably on the uphill side if that exists. The whole time, I would be moving extremely slowly and doing a whole lot of listening. Even if he has hens, the odds are decent that he will sound off at least once. I would be very cautious of bumping hens that are leaving him to go to nest. If I reached the spot where the fingers dropped down into the bottom, I would stop before cresting over into sight of anything, sit down, and do some serious listening. I would prefer that he give me the tactical advantage of knowing where he is while he has no clue of anything going on. Typically, after some time, I will know where he is and can formulate an approach that will get me in his wheelhouse. The closer, the better, but obviously too close is bad. If I know he has hens, I am still in listening mode even when I get where I want to be. If I hear nothing for a good while but not long enough for him to move out of the county, I may call a little. If he doesn't respond, I will just sit, listen, and watch. There is an off chance that he may try to sneak in silently. If he starts gobbling on his own after a bit, then I am jumping all over it with calling. Provided he is still where I think he is and a new setup isn't necessary. If he never starts gobbling after my first calls, I ain't gonna call more than once every 45 minutes or so. I ain't making another move towards him without knowing exactly where he is at. I may not kill him that day but I haven't ruined things either. I have spent more than one entire morning after a gobbler with a flock of hens and never killed him. Heck, just last year, I spent 5 hours on the outskirts of a flock. Had to negotiate around several hens and a jake. I finally coaxed one gobble out of him about 10 minutes before the 1pm shooting deadline. He was still 200 yards out and had no inclination of coming my way. The only reason I was on him was because I caught a few hens slipping away to nest and knew he had to be around somewhere. That's a long answer with no hard and fast rules, but thats my off the cuff thoughts on how I would go about it.


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